


I Think It’s Time You Found Another Reason To Stay For A While

by regionaltrench



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Addiction, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Friendship, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M, Male Friendship, References to Addiction, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2020-07-25 01:41:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 4,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20024464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regionaltrench/pseuds/regionaltrench
Summary: The whole night floods back to him in a flash.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to have a lot of chapters i think so i will see what people think and maybe i’ll post more to this.
> 
> The title is from the Movements song Daylily.

Josh wakes up on a couch that certainly isn't his, in a room that certainly is not his bedroom. Someone says his name, sounding like they're right next to him. He jumps, almost falling to the ground beside him. He clutches his chest in relief after looking over to see Tyler sitting on the opposite couch. 

"What are we doing at your place?" Is the first thing he asks. 

"You got sick remember? So I took you back to my place cause it's closer than yours." Tyler says, looking at Josh with concern.

Josh shakes his head rapidly trying to remember. The whole night floods back to him in a flash. He doesn't know why he drinks so much when he goes out, and this time it was too much. Way too much. He can already feel the headache coming on and he huffs out a breath. He tries to sit up, so he can get up and go to the bathroom, but as he does he feels immediately dizzy, so he lays back down. 

“Josh, don't get up. You need to rest." Tyler instructs, getting up from the couch and walking over to him. He covers him with a lightweight blanket and hands him a big pillow and the TV remote. Then, he walks into the kitchen and fills up a glass with water before taking two ibeuprofen out of the bottle in the cabinet. He heads back over to Josh in the living room and hands him the water and pills before going to sit back down on the opposite couch. 

"Thanks, Tyler." Josh says before taking the pills. He sips on the water slowly, not wanting to spill any of it on Tyler's new furniture. 

After about two episodes of Lost, Tyler looks over to see Josh has drifted off, one hand resting near his face while the other hand is outstretched hanging off of the couch. He stands up and grabs the TV remote from the table and turns it off before making his way to the bathroom and grabbing the garbage can. He walks back over to Josh and places it beside him in case he gets sick later. Then, he goes upstairs to his bedroom and grabs his pillow and his favorite blanket, the black and white one that looks like piano keys, and heads back downstairs to the couch where he was sitting. He sets down his pillow and blanket and then walks into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Looking in the mirror at himself, he didn't realize how tired he looks. He finishes brushing his teeth and flicks off the light and walks back into the hallway. He turns off the light in the kitchen and any other lights that are still on before going to the couch to lay down. He keeps tossing and turning, either being too hot, or too cold to sleep. He can just barely see the clock from the microwave from where he's laying, but he thinks it says 1:14, which doesn't surprise him knowing how long it always takes him to settle down and get tired enough to sleep. Knowing that Josh is safe, and asleep right across from him, makes him feel a little better, and hearing his quiet snores only help him to relax. He falls asleep thinking about Josh, safe and asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Tyler wakes up, and the first thing he realizes is that Josh is gone. The blanket is folded nicely and left on the couch where he slept, and the pillow is beside it. He gets to his feet and makes his way into the kitchen. He glances over at the counter and finds a note from Josh.

_ Tyler,  _

_ thank you for everything last night  _

_ sorry I had to leave so early this morning _

_ love you man _

_ love,  _

_ Josh _

Tyler stares, gaping at the note in his hands. He feels overwhelmed with emotions. Reading the note from Josh, and taking care of him last night only makes Tyler realize how much he cares about him. He loves Josh and he would do anything for him. He doesn’t want anything bad to happen to him. He wants to keep him safe.

He tucks the note into his pocket and turns around opening the cabinet containing his cereal. He grabs the box of waffle crisp and the milk from the fridge before plopping down on one of the bar stools at the kitchen island. He eats his cereal slowly, not fully awake yet. As he finishes and washes the bowl and spoon he thinks about going back to sleep, but decides to go shower and start his day instead. 


	3. Chapter 3

Josh walks quickly down the street, hood up and hands in his pockets. It's late and cold. Ohio winters can be brutal and tonight was no different. He ducks into the liquor store, heading straight for his isle. This is the liquor store he always goes to. He's been going here for years. He's surprised he doesn't get some kind of "frequent shopper" discount, the amount of times he comes here. Tyler had texted earlier, asking if he wanted to hang out. But Josh said no, he was busy with stuff. Not one of his best lies, but he can't say the same thing every night when he's drinking his problems away. He grabs his beer and heads to the counter to pay. He makes small talk with the cashier as he rings him up, before he's walking out the door and ducking into his truck, driving off down the road. He makes it back to his house quickly, thankful that the liquor store is only a few minutes away. He grabs the packs of beer and walks quickly inside, getting out of the cold winter night. He throws his keys down on the kitchen counter and brings one pack of beer into the living room, leaving the rest on the kitchen counter. He grabs the TV remote and turns on Comedy Central, before kicking off his shoes and grabbing a can of beer from the case. Tyler texts again, and then Mark, so Josh just decides to shut off his phone. He doesn't fully understand why everyone always seems to "need" him when all he wants to do is be alone. Before he realizes it, he's downing his second beer. He crushes the can and throws it in the direction of the garbage can, laughing loudly at himself when he totally misses it. He grabs another can, fumbling to get it out of the case.

Josh is not a lightweight. And sometimes he thinks that's part of the problem, but when he's drunk and feeling okay for once, he doesn't complain. Getting drunk has become a favorite activity for Josh. it's something he looks forward too. He can just let go, and not worry about anything, except the drink in his hand. He doesn't care about the countless injuries his drinking have caused, he only cares about feeling good. Sometimes when he's drunk, he thinks about Tyler. What would Tyler think about this?Would he care? Would he tell him to stop? "too deep.. please stop thinking." his brain tells him, afterhe thinks those things for too long. He doesn't know why he hasn't told Tyler about all of this. Maybe he feels like if he tells Tyler all of this, he'll have to stop. He wants to feel good and he doesn't want to stop. When he drinks, he gets to escape all of his thoughts. All of his problems melt away as soon as he takes the first sip. He can feel it coursing through his veins and it relaxes him. Other times, though, it gives him energy. Enough energy to run a marathon. He doesn't think when he drinks. And that's the beauty of it, isn't it? He doesn't have to do anything, or feel a certain emotion. He can just be Josh, be himself, and not care about anything.

It's almost 1am now and Josh feels on top of the world. He finds it strange that it only took him 3 beers to get him drunk tonight, but he decides to shrug it off. He slips on his vans and stands up, walking over to the kitchen to grab his hoodie and keys. He stumbles out the door, getting hit with the cold winter air again. He goes back inside to grab another beer, realizing that he had finished and thrown away his last one. He laughs at himself realizing he forgot to turn off the TV before he left. He starts walking down the street, not having any idea where he's going. He sips on his beer realizing he's not sure if he locked the door before he left. He subconsciously laughs at that as he stumbles along the road. His beer can is empty so he crushes it and throws it as far ahead of him as he can, thinking maybe he'll see it if he walks that far. He hopes he doesn’t get stopped by the cops for public intoxication, but at the same time he doesn’t really care. Something strange hits him, and his whole demeanor changes. He doesn't know what happened, but he all of a sudden feels strange, out of place. He screams out into the night sky, standing at the intersection of East Broad and North, one of the busiest intersections in the whole city. Cars are flying by him and it takes all of his willpower not to walk out into the street. He turns around quickly, attempting to find the nearest thing to him he can kick. It ends up being a traffic light pole, and he kicks it hard. His foot goes numb for a while as he screams in pain. His face is wet before he even notices he's crying. He drinks to forget. He drinks to escape. Why is he feeling this way when he’s drunk? He should be exempt from feeling this way. He should feel great. He looks up at the big clock outside of the bank on East Broad, seeing that it's nearly 2am. He wants more alcohol. No, he needs more alcohol. The only way to get it is to go home. He's got no money to go to a bar, and why would he when he's got beer at home? He turns around heading for home, feeling the lowest he's felt in weeks. 


	4. Chapter 4

Tyler's called Josh at least four times today. It’s 11am and he hasn't answered once. He went to his house earlier this morning, and he wasn't there. He just can't get a hold of him. He’s sitting on his couch, practically sulking about Josh's "disappearance", when his phone rings. It's from Josh, and he answers it immediately. He can barely make out what he's saying over the phone.

Josh is crying so much that he can’t even see 2 feet in front of him, let alone his cell phone. So when he sees that he’s somehow accidentally but dialed Tyler, he curses himself immediately. Grabbing at his phone, he ends the call as fast as he can. 

He sits there on his couch for a moment. Just breathing. Trying to attempt to calm himself down. His phone is ringing. He knows it’s Tyler. He doesn’t know what to do so he turns off his phone completely. He contemplates getting up to grab another beer but he can tell his body just doesn’t have the energy. He lies down on the couch and closes his eyes. He wants a break from life for a while. He needs sleep to swallow him whole.

Tyler grabs his keys and phone and walks out the door of his apartment. He locks the door and heads for the parking lot, finding his car quickly. Josh’s house is the destination and he drives as speedily as he can. 

On the way to Josh’s he looks in his glove compartment to make sure the spare key for Josh’s place is still there. He’s not bothering to ring the doorbell this time. He needs to find out what’s going on with Josh and make sure he’s okay.


	5. Chapter 5

The front door opens with a click and a push and Tyler is walking into Josh’s house. He can tell from walking inside that josh is here because all of the lights are on in the living room. As he walks into the living room he can hear Josh snoring ever so softly. He looks toward the couch to see Josh sprawled our on his stomach passed out asleep.

“Josh.” Tyler whispers to him from a few steps away. 

He doesn’t stir so he moves closer and places his hand on his shoulder. 

“Josh.” 

Springing awake obviously startled, Josh opens his eyes. “Tyler? what are you doing?” He mumbles groggily. 

“I just, i- wanted to make sure you’re okay. I came over to see if you were home, because you’ve been avoiding my calls and texts.” 

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Josh responds, sitting up slowly. 

Tyler joins him on the couch and turns to face him. “You know, any time you need something i’m here. Lately i feel like you’ve been keeping something from me. If you ever need anything, you know where i live.” He finishes, with a chuckle at the last part. 

Josh turns to him and smiles. “I know. Thanks. You’re a great friend Tyler.” 

“I just haven’t been feeling well is all. i’ve been just like going to work and then coming home and sleeping.” He half lies. 

“I took some vacation time this past week so i could just relax at home. sometimes i get tired of working all the time, you know?” He adds.

Tyler nods. “Yeah i totally get that.” 

“well i guess i’ll leave you to it then.” He stands up ready to leave. 

“Hey,” Josh starts 

Tyler turns around in his tracks. 

“I was gonna watch the new Game Of Thrones episode, if- if you wanted to stay and watch it with me.” Josh offers awkwardly. 

“Uh, sure. Yeah.” Tyler agrees.

He walks back over to the couch and plops down on it, getting comfortable. Glancing over at Josh, he takes note of how he’s scanning the kitchen quickly like he’s looking for a lost item. 

“You want a beer?” Josh asks all of a sudden, walking back into the living room with 2 beers in hand.

Tyler gives a confused expression. “No, I’m good. I don’t drink.” You didn’t know that? He asks curiously. 

“Oh, yeah. I forgot I’m sorry.” Josh responds apologetically. 

“It’s ok.” Tyler replies back.

“You did never tell me why though.” Josh wonders out loud. 

“Number one, I don’t like the taste of any of the alcohol I’ve tried. And number two I just don’t want to be able to lose control like that.” Tyler answers.

“What do you mean lose control?” Josh asks.

“Like, I feel like if I got drunk, A I wouldn’t know how many drinks it would take for me to get there, and B I would not really be in control of myself like I would be under the influence of alcohol and I could just do anything or anything could happen. If that makes sense.” Tyler argues his point.

“Yeah. I get that.” Josh agrees as he opens his can of beer. 

He places the second one on the coffee table and sits back on the couch comfortably. 

Grabbing the remote quickly, he turns on the tv and loads up the new episode. He sips on his beer slowly as not to alarm Tyler by drinking it quickly. They start watching the episode, chatting as Josh fast forwards through the commercials.


	6. Chapter 6

7am the next day. Josh’s alarm is going off. He’s got work for the first time in a week. Going to work hungover never seems to work for him, but he always does it anyways. The store he works at, guitar center, opens at 9am. Waking up at 7 gives him enough time to shower, get dressed, stop for coffee maybe, or just sulk about his life before his shift starts. Lately Tyler has been texting him good morning or just hi. I guess that’s his own weird way of making sure Josh actually wakes up in the morning. He probably knows somethings up with Josh, but he doesn’t want to get all up in his business if Josh doesn’t want him to be. He wants to wait until Josh is ready to talk.

Josh rolls out of bed and heads for the shower. A hot shower will surely wake him up and get him ready for his day ahead. Or maybe a nice cold beer? He ponders before entering the bathroom. He walks down to the fridge and grabs a cold beer out of it. As he walks back upstairs to shower he sips on it happily. His day has just started but so far he doesn’t feel like a totally worthless failure. “That’s a start.” He says out loud. Setting his beer down on the bathroom counter, he steps into the shower. The hot water wraps his skin in warmth, sending tingles and shivers down his spine in unison. He draws the curtain to take another swig of his beer. After washing up, he steps out and towels off. Looking in the mirror he almost immediately feels the panic set in. He realizes he’s got to make it through this day, totally unaided. Well on his lunch break he could definitely go to his car and unwind with a beer. Although now that he thinks about it having alcoholic beverages in his car probably isn’t the best idea. Attempting to calm his nerves, he takes another sip of his beer. He stops overthinking and exits the bathroom, walking down the hall to his bedroom to get dressed. He finishes off his beer and tosses it in the garbage can in his bedroom.

He gets ready fairly quickly, grabbing a beer and putting it inside his bag and going through the motions of his morning routine. After walking down to the kitchen, he opens the cupboard to grab a cinnamon pop tart. He unwraps it as he’s walking towards the door and grabbing his keys and wallet.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if anyone is actually reading this and enjoying it please let me know with a comment

Josh’s drive to work has the usual traffic. He takes the quickest route in hopes of getting there a few minutes early for his shift. His anxiety gets the best of him usually, so he likes to get to work early so he has a few moments to sit in his car. He usually just mentally prepares for his shift. Whether it’s long or short, it always feels long to him. He arrives in record time, shaving off five whole minutes of his commute. He turns off the car and reclines the drivers seat back. Opening up his phone he sees that it’s 8:46. Plenty of time to relax before he has to go inside. He lies back and places his phone down on the console.


	8. Chapter 8

Josh’s car window is being pounded on. 

“Josh! What are you doing!?”

Josh’s eyes pop open. First thing he sees is his boss pounding on the passengers side window of his car. He grabs his phone to see that it’s 9:23 am. Opening the car door quickly he scrambles out of it. 

He apologizes up and down to his boss as they’re walking in to the store. The embarrassment has set in and it’s all he’s going to think about for probably the whole rest of the day. Now he doesn’t know how he’s going to make it through the rest of the day. The dread and panic are already on the verge of setting in. He almost can’t wait until his lunch break. He would really love a beer right now. 

“Josh could you go help that guy over there at the drum section? I was going to myself, but I think that’s more your realm of expertise.” Garret, one of the other store employees asks. 

Josh snaps back to reality at the checkout line. “Uh, yeah, sure.” He nods half heartedly. 

“Uh h-hi, how c-can I help you?” He tries to make out to the guy. 

The customer has some dumb, really easily solvable problem with their drum set. Josh almost doesn’t have the energy to actually help him. He’d rather just make a snarky remark about how easy it is to figure out, and then walk away. But he has to remember he’s at work and his whole purpose here is to help customers.

“So what do I do?” The guy asks, interrupting Josh’s daydream. 

“Oh, sorry, I- Uh.” Josh scrambles. He explains what to do to the guy in as much detail as he can spare. 

“Alright. Thanks man.” The customer says with a smile before walking away.

Josh huffs out a breath. “I’m such a fuck up.” He mumbles to himself under his breath. 

He takes a stroll through the drums section of the store to take his mind off things. What most people don’t know about Josh is that he’s a drum fanatic. He was hooked the first time he ever played. He’s got a kit of his own at home, and he plays whenever he’s got a chance. Anytime his anxiety or stress is flaring up, he uses his drums as a coping mechanism, hitting them as hard as he possibly can. He sits down on one of the drum stools for a moment. He starts thinking about how his day is going so far, which is not so great. 

“Hey.” Garrett says with a smile.

“Josh?” He attempts to get his attention.

“Huh, what? I’m sorry.” Josh comes to.

“I was just saying hey, what’s up.” Garrett continues. 

“Oh, hey.” Josh responds back tonelessly.

“N-not to be like, rude, or anything but, you don’t look so good are you okay?” Garrett blurts out. 

Josh looks up at him. “I’m just exhausted.” 

“Oh why’s that?” Garrett asks.

“I don’t really get enough sleep. It’s hard to fall asleep at night.” Josh admits.

“Ah, I’m sorry to hear that.” Garrett responds. 

Josh nods his way before standing up. “We should probably like do our jobs, so I’m gonna go.”

“Yeah, good call.” Garrett agrees, walking away to another part of the store. 

Just as Josh is about to walk away and go help a customer or something, Christian, his boss is walking his way. 

“Josh did you clock in this morning?” He asks quickly.

“Yeah I think so. Why?” Josh responds confused. 

“I just got a call from the company that installed the system for clocking in and out and they said they have to come by to install some mandatory upgrades or something. Just wanted to make sure everyone’s clocked in before they mess with the system.” 

“Ah, ok. I’ll make sure.” Josh promises. 

Christian walks away to go find the other employees to notify.

A time check reveals to josh that it’s 11:15. Lunch sounds great right now. He wants to take a break for a little while. The day isn’t even nearly over and he’s already mentally and physically drained. He decides to immerse himself in work to make the time go faster. He walks over to the CD collection, organizing and fixing the albums in the wrong spots.


	9. Chapter 9

A father with 3 boys walk into the store. Josh watches as the kids touch everything they see. 

“Don’t touch that!” The father is scolding the 3. 

They walk all over the store looking at everything. 

“Thomas get your brothers!” The father asks the oldest. 

Thomas walks through isles trying to get his brothers and bring them to their dad. 

The father walks to the musical instrument section as the kids follow with interest. One of the younger boys beings pounding on one of the drum sets on display. 

“Dylan Michael! Stop that!” The father shouts at one of the younger boys. 

Christian walks over to the father quickly. “Let em try it out! Have fun! That’s what it’s all about.” He exclaims. 

“You sure? The father says in disbelief. 

“Yeah, yeah. Let em play.” Christian assures him.

“Rock on dude!” He exclaims, fist bumping the youngest child before walking away.

The second the banging continues, Josh’s splitting headache sets in. He walks to the complete other side of the store away from the musical instruments. He helps a customer pick out an electric guitar tuner for her acoustic. Randomly he remembers what his boss said about clocking in so he walks into the back room to make sure he did. Everything looks good to go so he takes a moment to sit down in one of the comfy chairs. He puts his head in his hands and rubs his face. He sighs frustratedly. This day is a mess so far. 

“Josh?” 

Josh looks up to see christian standing in front of him. 

Christians expression changes. “You alright?” 

“I have a splitting headache. Ever since those 3 boys that came in with their dad.” Josh admits. 

“Oh, they’re gone. Dad bought a couple CD’s and some guitar picks and they left.” Christian assures him.

“Oh. Thank god.” Josh celebrates quietly.

“Keep your head up.” Christian says, patting Josh on the back. He promptly walks out of the room. 

Josh takes a sigh of relief before standing up and leaving the back room to go back to work.


	10. Chapter 10

Before Josh knows it, it’s time for his lunch break. He never thought the time would come. Making his way to the back room he grabs his things and heads for his car. As he pushes open the front door of the store to exit, the wind pushes him back. He moves past it and makes a beeline for his car. Upon arriving and getting inside, the first thing he does is opens up his lunch box so he can drink his beer. He thinks chugging it fast will be the best chance of giving him the full effects of it, so that’s what he does. After cracking open the can he begins taking big swigs of it, sighing happily afterwards. He then takes out the contents of his lunch, starting to eat his sandwich. He pulls up a youtube video talking about one of his favorite video games. Just as it’s getting good, his phone rings. It’s Tyler. 

“Hey what’s up?” Josh asks.

“I just wanted to see if you were down to hang tonight? I know you’re at work right now but after do you want to maybe come over?” Tyler asks quickly. 

Josh waits a moment before responding. He thinks it only makes sense going over to Tyler’s after work. It’ll at least get him off his back and stop worrying about him. 

“Yeah, sounds good.” He responds. 

He can hear Tyler’s smile through the phone. “Great! i’ll see you tonight then.” 

Maybe it has been forever since they’ve actually hung out? Josh wonders.

He opens up the youtube video again, while taking another bite of his sandwich and swigging his beer.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on twitter @MINDTAKEASTAND


End file.
